As some of you know, I was off my bike for about 4 months due to a broken hand. So, I've been trying to get back into "riding" shape for the past 2 months and overall, things have been going pretty well. I've had some decent size rides with respectable elevation gains over the past 3 weeks and it was time to start upping the ante.

So I had a dentist appointment in OC yesterday and thought I would make a day of it and get in a good ride while I was up there. I wanted to ride something challenging, something that I had never ridden before, and something that would put me one notch closer to completing a super epic planned in December.
Aliso? LCWP? El Morro? Nah, those would all be too easy. I wanted to take a bite out of something at least big enough to choke on (don't say it ). Ah, how about Holy Jim/Main Divide/Trabuco? Perfect.

I did a little research, found directions on how to get there, where to start, etc. I even went as far as to map out the Main Divide (aka Pain Divide) to figure out where I could push it a little and where I may really have to "push" it as in HAB. Everyone who has ever ridden this trail complains about how brutal this section is.

So off I go, starting at Trabuco Canyon Rd, I wasn't sure how rough the road was going to be so I opted to ride the 4.5 miles to the trailhead versus driving in. The road was indeed rough until I got closer to the actual Wilderness Preserve.

A quick left and up Holy Jim I go. I had been making pretty good time so far and wanted to keep the momentum going up Holy Jim so I kept it in the middle ring. There were a couple sections requiring HAB but no big deal and kinda broke it up a bit. Past the Waterfall trail cut off things really opened up on the hillside going up. It also began to get steeper and a few nice little switchbacks to clean.

About 2 miles up Holy Jim (6.5 miles into the ride) my legs started burning pretty good and the huffing and puffing was soon to follow. I started wondering how long this climb could go on and finally around the 3 mile mark, I started to blow up. After a short break for a Cliff bar, I started off again - this time in the little ring.

There would be more burning, cursing, and breaks during the rest of the way up Holy Jim. It was quickly evident that I had completely overlooked this trail while worrying about the Main Divide and that this thing I had "bitten" into turned out to be a big piece of humble pie.

I felt strong going across the Pain Divide albeit having to walk two sections in an area know as "The Wall". There were some incredible views and more "quiet time" to reflect on the ride so far as I trudged towards the Trabuco singletrack turn off.

For anyone who has not ridden the Trabuco singletrack, the almost 5 miles of all downhill, flowing bliss is worth every bit of pain leading up to it. I mean sweeeet, high speed railing all the way down with a few technical sections thrown in to keep you on your toes.

The rocky road back to the parking lot was pretty uneventful, a couple little "hits" to keep it interesting, but pretty much just "mileage".

Anyway, I thought I would share my experience and lessons learned - 1) Don't understimate a trail that gains +2,200' elevation in 5 miles, and 2) Humble pie goes down a lot easier with cold beer.

Final stats:
Distance: 27.2 miles
Elevation gain: +4,605'
Speed: 34 mph (max) 6.5 (avg)
Time: 3 hrs 31 min (moving) / 4 hrs 14 min (total)

Some pics...

Brian...that is a heck of a midweek training ride. But what caught my attention was the "super-epic planned in December". Please tell more.....

-CHEERS

Sweet report...i love mid-week adventures. But why's the bike so clean?

Conditions were perfect, the light rain on Mon/Tues was just enough to make the trail slightly tacky and keep the dust down. You can't see it in the pics, but there is coyote shit stuck on my downtube. You can tell from the berries.

Nice TR. There are some incredible rides up in the Santa Ana's.

For sure, the possibilities there seem endless, especially once they open the rest of the burned areas. I'm skipping the CC/VQ but plan on doing some more exploring up there in the next few months.

awesome... that is on my to do list once I add some skill points to my climbing.

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never stop....

I did that route for the Warrior Society's Toad Festival a few years back, way fun and way hard. I need to get back up there. I didn't think the climb up Holy Jim was ever going to end, and once we got to the top there will bees everywhere.

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A road biker who doesn't ride mountain has no soul

awesome rr drew me in and had me suffering right there with you...i've never done this trail and i think i remember why

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Ironically, I signed up to do this route at last year's Toad Festival but I broke my hand a week before the ride. It was cool though, they let me ride one handed with the kids around Tijeras Creek.

Nice TR. I hate the taste of Humble pie.

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